Monthly Archives: November 2014

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Easter is a ham’s time to shine, but Thanksgiving or Christmas—fuggedaboutit! “No more!” says the pig. Tired of being the other meat, your ham is claiming center stage this holiday season. Move over turkey! Chef Jaimie Oliver adds a Caribbean spin to pork with this recipe for Spicy Jerk Ham.

I used to drink chocolate milk when I was a kid; it was a real quick fix. Just pour some milk in a glass and add two tablespoons of the powdered chocolate and that was it. This wasn’t my favorite beverage, but it was a good enough drink to settle down with on a Saturday or after school on a weekday. Sometimes my mother bought the powdered strawberry mix, but I didn’t drink the strawberry milk. That often stayed right in the cabinet unused. It wasn’t until I was just out of college and visiting my aunt at Christmas when I tasted something different—hot cocoa. Now, I’m not going to say that I never had hot cocoa before because I’m sure that I did, but this time it was so memorable.

Take an occasion like Christmas. Add on a spoonful of Christmas music like Donny Hathaway and little Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5 Christmas Album ( a classic in a lot of African American families). Sprinkle in some family with just a pinch of understanding about how precious this Christmas was because it would probably be our last holiday with my aunt, who was dying from an incurable disease. Then serve this reality with a cup of hot cocoa fully loaded with marshmallows from the hand of that loved one. This made for a special cup of hot cocoa and a memorable experience.

My aunt was a very direct person—intentional in getting in your business, especially if your business was raggedy. She loved you straightforward. She was the kind of aunt that said what she thought and didn’t mince words, like the time she asked my 22-year old boyfriend what he wanted with an 18-year old girl. Talk about OMGeesh! Soooooo embarassing! Do you think I told her that? No way! I just went with the flow and watched him sweat. Survival of the fittest dude!

My aunt had no children of her own, but that never stopped her from making her influence felt. She was strong and intelligent and she expected her neices and nephews to be that way too. However, she was a little different on this Christmas. It was just a few months after we learned of the disease she had been living with for seven years. It had robbed her of her full-figure. It had stripped her of her smooth glowing brown skin and left a ash-gray cover over her normally vibrant brown complexion. She was frail—less than 100-pounds—but she was still just as strong, just as concerned and just as loving as ever. So that Christmas she fretted over her neices because she wanted to and since then, hot cocoa with marshmallows has always felt like a cup of warm comfort. It takes me to a time of love and celebration that was so fleeting and sweet, and much like those fluffy marshmallows I could just lay back on the memories and rest for a while.

My aunt died the following summer, but oh how I remember her unabashed love, advice and correction. I will also always remember the way she loved on me with a cup of warm comfort that made everything all right that one Christmas.

Use this vegan gravy recipe as a substitute in your bisquits-‘n’-gravy meal, or for any other dish that calls for a gravy – hanksgiving stuffing, Salisbury “Steak”, Vegan meatloaf or even with veggie burgers. It can also be used as a supplement or even substitute for meat gravies.

Ingredients:

8 Tbs vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic — squashed and minced

2 slices yellow onion — chopped

8 Tbs all-purpose white flour

4 tsp nutritional yeast

4 Tbs tamari (soy sauce)

2 cups water

1/2 tsp sage

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

5 white mushrooms — sliced (optional)

extra flour or cornstarch (optional)

Directions:

Pour vegetable oil into saucepan. Cook the garlic and onion in oil for about two minutes on medium or medium-low heat, until the onion is tender and translucent.

Add the flour, yeast, and tamari to make a paste.

Add the water gradually, stirring constantly.

Bring the gravy to a boil on medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly — the gravy has to boil for it to thicken.

Add pepper. Stir in the sliced mushrooms, if desired. Add salt, if desired.

Prepare to speak Spanish on Thanksgiving by learning these words related to the holiday.

Keep in mind, though, that names of foods don’t necessarily translate well, or might not be understood in Spanish-speaking countries, due to cultural differences. For example, the various words that can be translated as “pie” include pastel, tarta,empanada, and even pay. All of those words except the last also refer to other types of desserts, and it might take an explanation or picture to make the meaning clear to someone not familiar with the food being talked about. The flip side of that, as an example, is that while the word relleno would normally be used to refer to turkey stuffing, the same word can be used for just about any type of food filling. Someone unfamiliar with U.S. holiday cuisine may not know specifically what the word refers to without an explanation.

MCCN’s Erika Holmes shared with us as a Puerto Rican you can expect to find Arroz Con Dulce on the Christmas Table Spread. We found this recipe on the great web site El Boricua, which should be on list for all things Puerto Rican.

CANDIED COCONUT RICE Ingredients
(Serves 12)

1½ cups rice

4¼ cups coconut milk

1½ teaspoons salt

3 cinnamon sticks

2 ounces ginger

6 whole cloves

Pinch of nutmeg-optional

1½ cups sugar

½ cup raisins

3/4 cup coconut milk (reserve to use at the end)

Directions

Wash rice and soak in water to cover, generously, for 2 hours. The rice will soak up the water so use plenty.About twenty minutes before rice is finished soaking combine the 4½ cups of coconut milk, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a medium size caldero.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate, cover and boil for 15 minutes.Drain rice thoroughly and add to caldero. Mix and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and cook unitl rice is completely dry, without stirring.Add the sugar and raisins, stir, and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes, without stirring.
Add reserved 3/4 cup coconut milk and stir. Turn heat to moderate and boil for about 30 minutes, or until rice dries again. In this cooking period, turn rice over occasionally and scrape bottom of caldero.

Ready to take a walk on the wild side this Thanksgiving. Ready to shun the usual light brown glaze of your turkey in favor of a blackened one. They say the darker the turkey the juicier the meat. Okay, I made that up, however; prepared properly, Epicurious says, ” This gorgeous bird emerges from the oven nearly black and very deeply flavored.” Make mole part of your Thanksgiving Day celebration, adding a little Mexican flair to your Thanksgiving menu with this Mole-roasted turkey with chile gravy.

If you are looking at the picture and expecting the turkey to be crispy, it’s not. The mole sauce makes the skin very tender and juicy. Sides are optional, but if you are looking to go all the way with this Mexican-influenced Thanksgiving meal, stuff your bird with masa stuffing. Click the links below to learn more about making this truly unique Thanksgiving meal. Let us know what you think about the recipes.

For chocolate, scrub the stained area immediately with ammonia, then wash as you normally would.

For egg stains, scrape off the excess with a dull knife, then soak the stain in cold water. Launder as you usually would. If the article requires dry cleaning, sponge the stain with cold water and take it to the dry cleaner right away.

Fresh coffee and tea called for the “hot waterfall” approach. First, stretch the stained part of the fabric over a bowl, as if you were putting a head on a drum, and secure it with a rubber band. Then pour boiling water over the stain from a height of two to three feet. Be careful not to burn yourself! Wash the article as you normally would, using a small amount of bleach if the fabric can tolerate it. The “hot waterfall” also works to loosen fruit and berry stains. It works with red wine if you first sprinkle a little salt on the stain.

After a wine spill, blot up as much of the wine as you can, then rinse with cool water or club soda. Sprinkle a little salt on the stain, and create a paste of salt and water. Then, if the fabric will stand it, pour boiling water through the stain with the cloth stretched over a bowl or bathtub. For tough stains, try blotting the stains with one of the following: 1/3 cup vinegar in 2/3 cup water; 2 tablespoons ammonia in 1 cup water; or alcohol, either straight or mixed with an equal amount of water. Rinse well and then launder as usual. In some cases, you may have to use an enzyme detergent to remove wine stains.

If spilled beer has dried onto clothing or tablecloths, mix a solution of equal parts vinegar and dish washing liquid, then sponge it onto the stain. Rinse with warm water and launder as usual. Tips from the “The Old Farmer’s Almanac“

Lasagna is making its way onto many a holiday table. Increasingly, it’s a standard at Thanksgiving in the U.S. However, just because it’s a standard, doesn’t mean you have to use a standard recipe. Try this recipe for matzo lasagna. It’s another spin on lasagna—a kosher spin.

Ingredients

1. Six pieces of matzo
2. Two eggs
3. 18 0z or one container of ricotta cheese
4. Spinach (optional)
5. One teaspoon of salt
6. One teaspoon of pepper